If you have a garden then why not review how rainwater runs off it. In recent years there has been a tendency for householders to pave over their gardens, either as additional off street parking or as patio and barbeque areas. This increases the amount of run off to the drainage system which in turn can enter our rivers in times of peak flows when storm water overflows allow excess water to discharge from the sewers to the river system. There are ways you can alter this process and allow water to infiltrate to the soils as they would have done before the hard standings were constructed. Our “You can slow the flow” webpages provide lots of useful tips and advice that can help you convert your garden to an area that can store small volumes of storm water run-off.

We are keen to engage with landowners or tenant farmers in the uplands above the Calder Valley, there is funding coming available for Natural Flood Management and Slow the Flow Calderdale are part of the process of locating and scoping possible suitable sites, so please get in touch with us if you fall into this category. Natural Flood Management on farmland could be the construction of shallow attenuation ponds which empty once the storm has passed and swales which temporarily intercept run off and store water, please see our Case Study 1 for an example of an attenuation pond constructed on farmland above Todmorden. As an incentive there are possible ongoing annual payments for landowners who can prove they have maintained the Natural Flood Management interventions installed on their land.

We are keen to engage with woodland owners in the uplands above the Calder Valley and the cloughs closer to the valley floor, there is funding coming available for Natural Flood Management and Slow the Flow Calderdale are part of the process of locating and scoping possible suitable sites, so please get in touch with us if you fall into this category. Natural Flood Management in woodland could be the construction of leaky woody debris dams similar to those constructed at Hardcastle Crags. As an incentive there are possible ongoing annual payments for woodland owners who can prove they have maintained the Natural Flood Management interventions installed on their land.

Our projects need a constant supply of willing and able volunteers, the 120 leaky dams constructed so far at Hardcastle Crags would not have been possible without volunteers. October 2017 saw our first corporate volunteer day when Skanska employees came to Hardcastle Crags to construct leaky dams, these are all now functioning and slowing the flow to Hebden Water.

If you have a willing and able work force and would like to help with a team building day constructing leaky dams then we have opportunities throughout 2018 in Hardcastle Crags.

Training, advice, guidance and support will be given to those joining for the first time!

Due to limited parking at Hardcastle Crags, we must try and limit the number of volunteer cars in the car parks at Hardcastle Crags. If possible, please could you help us help the National Trust with the limited parking by doing one of the following;

1. Can you Car Share with another volunteer
2. Park in Hebden and walk to Hardcastle Crags.
3. Meet us in the car park opposite Hebden Bridge Town Hall at 9.10 on each volunteer day and we will provide a shuttle service.

Thank you for choosing to volunteer with us. If you have any special needs, please do get in touch and we will do our best to help you get the most out of volunteering with Slow The Flow Calderdale’.